Since listening to the JKDAC32 for a good week or so in my own system, I've put the M2Tech Young (w/ Teddy Pardo power supply) out to pasture. I have been amazed how much the JKDAC32 DAC has opened up. I am not one for all the hi-fi jargon but the best way I can describe the sound is something like this: it now has a weight, body, depth and detail that had hitherto eluded my PC-based setup. This evening for the second time I ran an experiment using my analogue set up against the JKDAC32 using Jplay. For the first time the PC based system left the analogue system behind. I used a fresh vinyl copy of Van Morrison’s “His Band and the Street Choir” against a FLAC rip from the CD for comparison. After repeated switching back and forth with both playing simultaneously all I could hear were the weaknesses in the analogue setup. Now I understand why people spend such crazy money on cartridges, turntables and phono stages. The analogue system sounded soft and lacking real separation. Don’t get me wrong here: if you had not heard the PC based system, the turntable setup is a sound you could easily live with and enjoy daily .............Pearse............ Read here

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comjkdac32vsm2techyoungdac1http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/3617686602531234072012-06-18T09:42:03.728Z2012-06-18T12:19:07.628Z2012-06-18T12:19:06.447ZJKDAC32 June 2012

Would first like to thank John and Paul for the opportunity to audition this wonderful DAC. I've always been skeptical of most of the lower priced units because I've never really heard one that I could live with. We've had DAC shootouts at our PNWAS meetings and I've really been underwhelmed at what I've heard so far. I've invested over $100k trying to chase the ultimate in A to D and D to A technology over the past year. I now have my reference converters that I use on clients material and couldn't be happier.

When I was approched and asked if I'd like to try out a new DAC, at first I put it off. I did some research and was also trying out new native software in the studio and needed a DAC to try it out. So I told John to send it to me. The software I'm using is Magix Sequoia. It's a native digital audio workstation that is capable of sample rates up to 384kHz. I also used it on the server software "Emotion" by Merging Technologies, the same company that makes the Pyramix workstations we use. I also used the DAC with JPlay by itself. Unfortunately I could not get JPlay to work with anything greater than 192. I'd just get noise/artifact with 352.8 and 384 files.

When I got the DAC I opened the package and saw a nondescript black box with RCAs and a USB port on one side and a switch on the other. I connected the DAC using a new JPS Labs USB cable and SC3 interconnects.

The first cut I listened to was the Oscar Peterson "We Get Requests" that we mastered for FIM. The DAC was very coherent from top to bottom. Nothing sticks out to me in a bad way. The hardest part of a DAC is to recreate the soft parts. I can sense the size of the venue and reverb tails go out all the way without falling off into the black.The bass is nice and tight. Imaging on upright basses are spot on. They have good definition and body. Nothing bloated or unnatural. Snare hits are fast. I can hear the body of the snare for 1-2sec. It doesn't fall off like other converters. Piano is strong throughout the whole range. Voices are very natural and brass doesn't make my ears bleed.. especially muted trumpet. The only thing I found lacking are tiny cymbal hits. We mastered the Sheffield Track and Drum album for FIM as well and the quiet cymbal hits aren't quite there. I can hear the initial transient, then it falls off too quickly into the noise. If I turned the volume up, I could hear the decay though. I really had to nit pick to find anything wrong with this converter. Remember, right behind me was the best of the best, so I knew what it had to do to impress me.

All in all.. I'd say it's the best inexpensive converter I've heard yet. I'd put it up against anything under $5k.

We'll be getting the Mytek 192/DSD DAC in here again and would love to directly compare the 2 head to head. From what I remember, the Mytek has its work cut out for it! Great job John!!

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comjkdac32june20122http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/79647770056563289462012-05-16T21:22:16.908Z2012-05-16T21:22:16.914Z2012-05-16T21:22:16.872ZJKDAC32 - May 2012

Bass, is as the reviews already indicated, very nice instead - fast, tight, very detailed, basically all the things I was hoping it would improve on compared to the DACMagic I was using before. And I got that in spades. Bass has always been important to me, not that it needed to be extremely deep or overbearing, but it's apparently very difficult to find a DAC, or transport and amp for that matter, that accurately presents the recorded bass material. The JKDAC32 does do a wonderful job do, very pleased with that side of the DAC.

Mid range is wonderful, voices always intelligible, centered when it's recorded that way and good, stable placement when not. Tom's have punch and the initial striking "tock" of the drums presents a good presentation of the force the drum was struck and accurately represents the specific sound the material drum head is made of. Bass guitar slaps, piano notes, drums, percussion, vocal body, all have a substantial quality to it which is how I like my mid range to sound. In most cases I am not impressed with orchestral strings, but with your DAC they have that warm quality and at the same time the initial strike of the bow on the instrument as well as the string and body noises you can expect of such an instrument.

The higher regions of the frequency spectrum are well presented. Cymbals, bells, shakers have a nice ring to them (pun intended). The sound is airy and is very impressive in how it reproduces these sounds - not hard or harsh, but ethereal, rounded and easy to listen to. I think other DACs might provide more insights into what material the cymbal is made of, but this is eminently listenable and not fatiguing at all.

It's very interesting how on some recordings the vocals are centered, or should I say anchored, in the middle and the rest of the instruments or additional vocals are all around it and to the back of it. Very interesting "effect" (I know, it's not an effect) and not something I have heard in my system to this degree yet when testing other DACs.

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comjkdac32-may20121http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/77222426327550440912012-03-21T19:02:39.839Z2012-03-21T19:02:39.845Z2012-03-21T19:02:39.831ZJKDAC32 Impressions

Hey John, just wanted to let you know I got the jkdac32 on Monday. .........................

The thing sounds amazing! A day of solid play did wonders to sort the sound out, but after 24 hours, it seems to have found it's voice. Probably the most tonally correct and gently detailed sound I have ever heard from digital, that's just as easy for me to groove out to, as it is for me to read a book while listening to. Every time I try to listen analytically to music coming from this thing, I just get lost in the music. That's the biggest wow factor of your dac for me...that it excels at all the audiophile stuff (soundstage, black background, blah blah), but I'm too busy enjoying the music to get wrapped up in that stuff.

Even typing this out, with it playing music in the background, I've stopped writing for minutes at a time, cause it just sounds soooo good!

The one audiophile thing I want to mention, that has impressed me most, is that I can't see the bottom on this thing! Here's what I mean...

If you look into water, if it's clear enough, you can see the bottom. When I listen to most digital devices, I can 'see the bottom', so to speak. And it's the plane where the music seems to come from. Every dac I have owned has had that plane. Sometimes it's further back, sometimes it's right in my face, but it's there, that plane where the music goes no deeper.

Your unit seems to have no bottom. No plane where the music seems to start from, yet it's all clear! It's amazing! I feel like the music is coming from a place I can walk into, cause there's no magic barrier it seems to begin from. I've only heard that bottomless soundstage with vinyl in my system before! It's pretty crazy!

I just wanted to thank you for this. I'm enjoying it tremendously, and look forward to spending years enjoying music with it.

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comjkdac32impressions1http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/45649751527448955122010-06-26T19:21:08.285Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.876Z2010-06-26T19:39:24.037ZUser Review

Extract from an email - given permission to reproduce here

I primarily listen to classical music through headphones. I have balanced HD800's driven by a Headroom ultra desktop stack (I don't know if you're familiar with Headroom's stuff). Some major things that I have noticed even during my short time with your mod: 1. The bass extension and texture is amazing. I can clearly hear the bow strokes on string basses and the attack reminds me of sitting in an excellent concert hall. 2. The soundstaging is bar none the best I've heard. The width has improved greatly but the depth even moreso. Placing of the instruments is breathtaking. 3. Tonality seems spot on. I am a classically trained violinist and the instrument presentation reminds me of playing in an orchestra. 4. Clarity is greatly improved so that I hear subtle nuances that I did not notice previously.

Overall, this is the best money I've spent on tweaking my system. I don't know exactly what these batteries are doing, but this mod is a terrific transport and for the price a no-brainer.

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comuserreview-55http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/63651036725528325492010-06-26T19:19:16.301Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.875Z2011-02-06T21:41:41.734ZUser Review

On firing up the unit it was apparent that there was a step up in sound quality over the std unit. Bass is deeper and more natural and also more textured allowing you to hear more of what is going on in the mix and allowing one to hear subtle details which have been previously hidden, its like a veil has been lifted from the sound. There is no hint of any digital glare in fact this is the most "analogue" my system has sounded using a digital front end.I have only got a few hours listening under my belt but I will be keeping the modded unit.

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comuserreview-45http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/5161055845554361492010-06-26T19:18:30.344Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.874Z2011-02-06T21:42:09.710ZUser Review

Contrary to what I am used to, I have made very few musical examples simply because it is very dependent on the associated DAC. The modified Hiface is a very transparent device. It doesn’t have a sonic signature of its own. As far as I could tell, the overall sonic signature will depend more on the associated equipment and the recording itself than on the modified Hiface itself. For more details about musical examples, I invite you to read my review of the DAC19DSP for which I used the modified Hiface as a transport. (See here: Review of the Audio-gd DAC19DSP & C2 amp - The ACSS connection). While the modified version that jkeny sent me is still a prototype, I can say that it by far the best converter I have listened to in my system. I was expecting a small improvement (since I considered the stock one being excellent) but I was totally surprised by the level of performance of the modified Hiface. Its effect on the sound was not subtle at all. jkeny described the sound of the modified Hiface as similar to that of expensive analog and I couldn’t agree more: his modified Hiface make the other converters sound broken. Personally, I have already asked jkeny if I could send him my stock Hiface to have a similar mod done to it.

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comuserreview-35http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/88761142823126563222010-06-26T19:17:43.715Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.873Z2011-02-06T21:43:24.794ZUser Review

I was totally floored by what I heard. The improvement was real and big compared to the other converters. What impressed more about the modded hiface vs. the other converters is that the modded hiface made everything sound real while the others struggled at various degrees to portray a poor copy of the real thing. I just didn't have the strength/will yesterday night to switch to another dac to confirm my findings. I was able to just sit back and listen to the music without analyzing it ... which is a rare thing for me

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comuserreview-26http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/38000181591324176022010-06-26T19:16:38.415Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.872Z2011-02-06T21:44:01.098ZUser Review

The first thing that struck me was the bass - deeper with incredible control, a very dark background, more detail especially noticeable on cymbals, larger soundstage. I could have been in the room with Eva (nature is cruel sometimes :[)Overall a very positive jump in quality

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comuserreview-15http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/77730217743254068532010-06-26T19:15:42.315Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.871Z2011-02-06T21:44:23.064ZUser Review

I got my mod'd HiFace from John a few days ago but only today did I get round to giving it a serious listen and ........I'm very impressed!! The signal path was maybe not the best and I would appreciate any comments on this but here it is: PC playing 24 bit FLAC files through a male to female USB extension lead into Hiface into mod'd Beresford 7520 DAC, through fixed output into G2 amp to Marantz PM6010 OSE KI amp and onto MS Mezzo 2 speakers. I can honestly say that my setup has never sounded better. I just sat and listened for about an hour, and that was in the morning when, according to some, our ears are not at their best.Certainly not a cheap piece of kit as far as my budget is concerned and as I didn't use it before it's modification by John (Kenny) I can't comment on the improvement, but as a stand alone investment, very well worth the money, IMHO.

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comuserreview5http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/7730501365575474652010-06-26T19:20:00.117Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.870Z2011-02-06T21:41:06.316ZUser Review

Extract from an email to me by permission of: Albert L. Jones, author of Gryphon Unplugged: The History of Gryphon Audio Designs

Abstract:

The past few days I moved HiFace from my basement office system to my main living room stereo system, running Foobar with kernel streaming on an MSI Wind 100 netbook. The system is:Netbook - Locus Axis USB cable - HiFace - Oyaide DR 510 coax digital cable- Hegel HD 10 DAC - Gryphon Sonata Allegro preamp - MK 150P active speakers - 2 MK MX350 subwoofers, all fed by a PS Audio Power Plant Premier AC regenator.The netbook/HiFace/Hegel took the place of my Logitech Transporter music server which has been heavily modded by Reference Audio Mods. At less than 1/4 the price, the PC-based front end blows the Transporter out of the water. Tighter, more detailed bass, deeper, wider soundstage with more space between performers, cleaner, clearer high's and simply more information all around. The ability to go 24/192 was my main reason to upgrade, but that is pretty much just an afterthought now. Everything sounds right-er, more true to the source.

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.comuntitledpost7http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/47841823711315143722010-06-26T19:14:15.671Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.869Z2011-02-06T21:45:06.222ZReview of unboxed version

So how does the unit sound? Well in a word excellent! There is a clarity to the sound that is quite remarkable – you really notice it at the frequency extremes. Bass is incredibly tight and well defined and treble is smooth and clear without any trace of harshness. Massed violins, or recordings with some sibilance are actually quite listenable. If you had any doubts, a quick reversion to a PCM 2707 based converter will re-assure you. John himself told me how he noticed ever-increasing levels of clarity in the sound as he worked his way through his mods to the HiFace, and I for one believe him. As John himself says “I now know what jitter sounds like – as each improvement was implemented a layer of hash and noise was removed and bass and treble improved. However, go back and compare to a standard unit and the difference is pretty stark”.

Extended listening with the HiFace also showed up a superb depth of soundstage, sounding really fantastic with all music, and especially effective with full orchestral music. Given a DAC of adequate quality (and I do believe that Johns modded HiFace unit will only reflect what the DAC can handle) the sound has a liquidity and pace that does compare to analogue. As a testament to its resolution, I could clearly hear the difference in music files encoded to different sample rates, all the way up to WAV files. Not many transports can do that.

Going the battery route clearly alters the sound in terms of becoming warmer and richer, with an overall more organic and 'substantial' sound while still retaining all the positives of the stock M2Tech. You still the 'tinkle' but with more decay and air… the 'tinkle-ness' now sits more 'among the group' as opposed to standing out from the crowd. The Upgraded M2Tech presents music with a greater sense of density and heft… reminds me of other battery-powered devices.........

........... It is less aggressive and in a way, more organic. Gee, who would have thought that power noise and whatnot would be such an issue? But yeah that is exactly what noise can sound like… a bit more aggressiveness, more perceived resolution via etch caused by there being more grain that is riding along with the music. Take that away and you actually hear more while hearing less: more music and less fatigue and whatever. Of course I am only speculating here that by going the battery route over 100% USB power is removing or mitigating to some degree noise or whatever that is mucking up the sound in terms of the stock unit having more this or that… or less whatever. Which is not to say that the stock M2Tech is not good, yeah, it is quite amazing for what it is and for what it does, but at $150 obviously trade-offs and compromises had to be made… so as good as it is, going with a $140 upgrade in terms of how the device receives power moves the M2Tech up quite a few meaningful notches on the musical scale. Highly recommended.

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.compressarticle5http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/19252267649228531732011-07-31T01:50:12.787Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.867Z2011-07-31T01:50:51.988ZMK3 Review

John: I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying the MK3! It is fabulous. I have been using it with my Macbook Pro, with several DACs (PSAudio Perfectwave, Centrance DacMini, Burson, Benchmark DAC-1 HDR)--it sounds superb with all and is a significant step up over the USB inputs on each, with a very smooth sound--extended highs, tight bass and very nice soundstage. I would put the Perfectwave with the MK3 very close to the Metric Halo ULN-8 firewire DAC (the USB implementation on the Perfectwave DAC is not very good), which is my reference. I haven't spent as much time as Ihad planned with A/B tests simply because I have been enjoying listening to the music too much!

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.commk3review4http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/18102162535110869172011-07-24T16:51:24.481Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.866Z2011-07-24T16:58:58.269ZMK3 Impressions

Got to listen to it some more today...nothing has changed, I'm still impressed. What you want in a converter is not to be able to discern a sound signature. It should be entirely transparent and let the DAC shine...which is what the MK3 does. The MK1 was a bit soft and slow, the MK2 was somewhat dry and closed in comparison, the MK3 is none of that. It's fast, detailed, revealing, very open, noiseless/black, delicate and all this without a hint of harshness. Some of the greatest areas of improvement over the other transports are the tight bass and grain-free, smooth, detailed, extended treble. The best top-end I've heard in my system.

I can't find any flaws with the MK3. I can't give it any higher praise because up till now, that has happened with only a handful of the best equipment I've owned.

I also like the fact that the build is more professional and the jacks are finally all at the back in one place. Makes wiring neater and more convenient.

Just as a reference, I've owned the y2 DAC/converter, Musiland 02US (3 of them), MK1, MK2, MK3 and stock HiFace, both Asus Essence ST and STX, Teralink-X2 (twice) with linear regulated PSU + aftermarket silver USB cable. I've also used several integrated motherboard SPDIF outputs. The MK3 is hands down the best out of these, and they're all better than straight USB. If people are still using the USB input with their high-end DAC, they're really missing out on the potential of their source. The difference is profound.

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.commk3impressions4http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/31615808934532892382010-09-17T12:25:01.080Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.865Z2010-09-17T12:25:30.916ZMK2 Review

I can comfortably recommend Johns mods to the HiFace to anyone interested in getting the best sound from their computer-based source. In a word, it will change your perception of PC as source – and at a very reasonable price. Now there’s something you don’t often read!!

John Kennyjohn.f.kenny@gmail.commk2review4http://sites.google.com/feeds/content/site/hifacemods/23792974922142042652011-07-24T12:00:01.182Z2012-03-18T23:45:30.864Z2011-07-24T12:02:46.345ZJKDAC Vs other DACs

Just for the heck of it it tried connecting it directly to my Patek amp and used the volume control in Pure Music or Itunes. Holey crap - everything improved - detail, sound-stage, life - everything. Once you hear this no going back - direct connection is the way to go. Anyway decided the comparison with the other DAC's needed to be done again so contacted my acquaintance who had arrived back and headed on over for another comparison..............

We ended with the MK2, Kenny's most modded HiFace. And with 25 db (!) attenuation (more than 250x weakened) Compared to the Wavelink we recognized a deeper 3D stage. Steve also noticed that the lows went deeper and lower. There was more bass added in a natural way. Would you say that the MK2 then may be better than the Wavelink? Steve indicated that there was a very small difference but a slight advantage for the Wavelink he experienced. I found the sound image and quality of the MK2 slightly more convincing…

The Wavelink without attenuators is no match for the MK2 with attenuators. I find both of them operating from a height which, with the present state of technique is difficult to improve.